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Western Digital Corporation (WDC), valued at a market cap of $22.1 billion, specializes in developing, manufacturing, and selling data storage devices and solutions. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company provides an extensive portfolio of hard disk drives and solid-state drives, widely used in consumer electronics such as desktop PCs, video game consoles, and digital video recorders. Western Digital is scheduled to release its fiscal Q2 earnings results after the market closes on Thursday, Jan. 23.
Ahead of this event, analysts expect the tech company to report a profit of $1.67 per share, up 283.5% from a loss of $0.91 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has consistently topped or touched Wall Street's earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters.
For the current fiscal 2025, analysts expect WDC to report an EPS of $6.26, up 669.1% from a loss of $1.10 in fiscal 2024.
Over the past year, shares of WDC have rallied 27.3%, slightly outperforming both the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 26.3% surge and the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLK) 27.1% return over the same period.
The surging demand for AI-related memory and WDC's effective structural changes have revitalized its cloud and client end markets, contributing to the upward momentum in its stock price.
However, on Dec. 19, WDC dropped more than 6% at the close after Benchmark Company LLC downgraded the stock from "Buy" to "Hold."
Additionally, Western Digital’s shares saw a 5.6% drop in its stock price on Dec. 12, after management highlighted ongoing pricing challenges and excess inventories affecting demand for PCs and smartphones. The market views this news as significant but not a fundamental change in the company's outlook.
Analysts' consensus view on Western Digital’s stock is very bullish, with a "Strong Buy" rating overall. Among 21 analysts covering the stock, 15 recommend a "Strong Buy," and six suggest a "Hold" rating. This configuration is slightly less bullish than a month ago when 16 analysts suggested a "Strong Buy."
The mean price target for WDC is $89.42, indicating a potential upside of 39.6% from current levels.
